Friday, October 19. 2007Why do Honda and Yamaha hate America? Its the same old complaint. The grass is always greener blah blah blah. But why is it, the two largest motorcycle manufacturers reserve some of most appealing non-sportbike/cruiser models for markets other than North America? Kawasaki and Suzuki, on the other hand, have done very well with some of their less main-stream models. And I see more and more MSF students every class that are asking about "small/light" bikes that are easy to ride. At a recent moto event, I was discussing this exact issue with a Honda Marketing Specialist who told me that they are languishing over the fact that the Cruiser buying demographic is shrinking faster than manhood exposed to cold water - whats a billion-dollar corporation to do?Meanwhile, the popularity of the SUV and now the Adventuretour/Traille bike is sky-rocking. Ever visit ADVRider.com? And Honda and Yamaha both refuse to import their versions of these bikes. First, Honda has the Transalp. A brilliant little motorcycle that did actually come to America in the late 80's and supplied the 52-degree 647cc, V-twin motor for the HawkGT. Its now up to 680cc's and has fuel injection and host of other improvements. Is it available in the U.S.? Nope. Neither is its big brother, the VTR1000cc powered Varadero (stupid name). Not even the FMX650 SuperMoto bike that totally looks the business. Next, we have the Yamaha Tenere. Not a new model in the Yamaha lineup, versions of this bike have been circumnavigating the globe almost as long as the KLR650. It only has a 660cc thumper motor - but it looks way cooler than the KLR in a KTM sort of way - it even comes in a desert-camo motif.  At least we have Kawasaki who has brought us the brilliant Versys (if not all that aesthetically pleasing) that fills this nitch, and the exceptionally popular and capable V-Strom 650. It's no secret that in America dirt-bike gear outsells street bike gear at a rate of almost two-to-one - and one would think that if you wanted to increase your sales, you'd feature bikes that transitioned between dirt and street. But what do we know? Next we'll talk about small/light bikes - so stay tuned. Comments
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I wonder if it has anything to do with the actual market in America? Americans feelings of motorcycles may be a factor.
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Jeff (http://sportridersblog.com) on Oct 24 2007, 22:42 Reply
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